One moment she feels blissfully in control ahead of the pack, the next she’s taken in a mouth-full of water and is battling an upstream current.

The event she will race at the Paris Olympic Games is the perfect metaphor for the past 12 months for the French-born athlete who after more than a decade on the national team will become an Olympian.

The younger sister of four-time Olympic medallist Jessica ended months of uncertainty by qualifying for the newly-introduced kayak cross finishing second at the Prague World Cup last month.

Kayak cross? Think all the thrills and spills of BMX cross or snowboard cross, then add white water, a raised start platform and four canoeists who race simultaneously. 

However, Noemi’s moment of happiness was tinged with sadness, when her beloved 92-year-old paternal grandfather, Roger Fox, who planned to be at the Games, passed away the following evening.

“It was such a huge day,” she says of her Olympic qualification.

“Incredible emotions and such a tough battle. The odds felt against me.

“Sadly, my Grandpa passed away shortly after. He wanted to be there in Paris. He found out a few hours before that I had qualified which brings me a lot of peace.

“Hard day; so many emotions.”

Many sports fans will know the Fox sisters come from canoe royalty. Their mother Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, a two-time Olympian, won a bronze medal for France at the 1996 Games and their father Richard Fox was fourth for Britain at the 1992 Games. 

What most won’t know is both sets of grandparents have also had a significant influence on their achievements.

Their late maternal grandfather, Albert Tobelem, affectionately known as Pépé Bebert, introduced two generations of Fox women to the sport. 

He founded the Marseille Mazargues Canoe Kayak Club in the south of France in 1981 where both the girls still paddle today when based in Europe.

His wife Julie, who lives in the South of France, still chats daily to Noemie on the phone, but gets too nervous to watch the competitions, so won’t be course-side in Paris.

Late paternal grandpa Roger was one of their keenest supporters. He founded the St Albans Canoe Club in the south of England and later was vice-president of British Canoeing.

“My love for my sport isn’t just because it’s my family’s thing,” Noemie says.

“They'd always try to share their passion and hoped that eventually it would catch on and it did, but I have found my own love for the sport.

“I’m still incredibly involved with my grandfather’s club in France. I go there every time I'm in Marseille. I visited in March. We did a few sessions together with the younger kids at the club.

“If I went overseas and didn't go to Marseille, I would be disowned. My Grandma would be so upset. We have an incredible relationship; we are very close.”

 
A love for travel, the emerald, white waters of rivers in both the northern and southern hemisphere, along with life-long friends are what has kept Noemie in the sport since making her first national team at age 16.

Her first memories are of paddling a kayak in the lakes surrounding Forster-Tuncurry on the NSW mid north coast on family holidays. Her father launched the girls into the middle of the lake; many hours were spent spinning in circles as they struggled to control the craft.

 
Noemie’s teenage years were spent juggling study and sport at school and then at university where she achieved a distinction in a Bachelor of Arts in Media, Communication and Management and Master of Management.

But despite winning a silver and two gold world championship teams’ medals as a member of the Australian Open Team, an individual start at the Olympics has eluded her until now.

“Qualifying for Paris has been my goal. I tried to tell myself to enjoy the process because you never know if it will come again, but it was a tough journey,” she says. 

“I had to let go of my fear factor. There were times when I felt like I was jinxing myself. There were times when I was frustrated. My Dad would say ‘just focus on yourself; don’t dwell on things you can't control’. 

“Simply having an opportunity to go to Paris changed my outlook and purpose. I've been so motivated; so dedicated and determined in my training. It ignited so much more in me.”

When she does take to the white water for the kayak cross at her debut Olympic Games, Noemie won’t be taking on her opponents on her own. Her sister and parents will be course-side, grand-mère Julie waiting nervously by the phone and her adoring grandfathers’ in her heart.

The Women's Kayak Cross Time Trial is held at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Saturday, 3 August, 11:30pm (AEST).

Catriona Dixon